My First Friend
by cyberfrogX
Summary: Another AU fic. Harry is in third grade and finds someone not afraid to be his friend. Chapter seven up
1. Finding

My Friend  
  
Out of everyone in the third grade classroom, he was labeled 'the outsider.' Not because he wanted to, not because the other kids wanted him to, but because his cousin Dudley wanted him to. He sat in the back corner of the room, anywhere else and he would find Dudley's fist in his face. He looked around, while the teacher asked everyone their name, favorite color, and what they liked most, and noticed a girl in the other corner reading a book. Everyone knew her, she was the smartest kid in his grade, she was always reading, and liked to be left alone most of the time. She had a couple of loose friends but they rarely did anything together. The teacher suddenly interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"Hello there," she said, "would you please tell the class your name?"  
  
"Umm, Harry," he said.  
  
"Harry," she said, "What would be your favorite color?"  
  
He thought a second. He never picked out a favorite color before. He liked the color of his eyes though. "I-I like the color of my eyes," he said. Dudley and his friends snickered at this, but the teacher seemed happy.  
  
"And what do you like most of all?" asked the teacher.  
  
Harry didn't know what to think about that question. There wasn't anything he really liked. He lived with his aunt and uncle, and their annoying child, his cousin Dudley. His life there was terrible. There was, however, one thing he would really like. "I would like to have a friend," he said flatly. Everyone in the room looked at him, even that girl that was always reading. Most of the kids were giving him sorrowful looks and Dudley and his friends were glaring at him. That girl was looking at him with a surprised expression on her face, and the teacher was speechless.  
  
"Well," said the teacher, "I-I hope you find a friend." Then she quickly went on to the next kid. Harry sighed; this would be just like all the others. Lonely, sad, depressing, and well, the story of his life. 'Maybe I should start actually learning in school' he thought, 'I've got nothing else to do.' But then again, right now school was boring for him. He watched as the rest of the kids were questioned, and how they answered so cheerfully. Then it was that girl's turn.  
  
"Hello," said the teacher.  
  
"I'm Hermione, I don't have a favorite color, but the color of Harry's eyes is nice, and as for what I like most of all." she said without ever looking up from her book. But then she did, and she looked right at Harry. "Reading is nice, but a friend could be better." Harry was now blushing a bit as she went back to reading. Dudley gave her a glare, but she didn't notice.  
  
'Maybe this will be a good year," thought Harry. "Just maybe," he said aloud.  
  
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I just wrote this to help me think of how I am going to continue my first HP story. If you like this and want me to continue, just say so in your review thanks. 


	2. Talking

My Friend  
  
That day, after school, Harry was walking home as usual. Of course he was not 'aloud' to ride the bus, according to Dudley. Dudley, that name infuriated Harry. After what he had done today, Harry could never look at him in a nice or even neutral way. Every time he saw that pig, he had to frown. Dudley had found Hermione to be a threat to his authority. So, like he always does, he tried to scare her away. She stormed off, and Harry thought that Dudley had succeeded, but in truth he had only made her more interested in Harry.  
  
So he was on his five mile (yes, I live in America, I'm going to use miles, lol) journey home. He usually ran it, since it helped him stay fit, so he could easily outrun Dudley when the time came, but today he was rather sad and felt like wallowing in his own depression. He saw the last bus pull away, and sighed. Then he heard someone yelling for the bus to stop. Rather bad luck because the meanest driver around (you have to hate those kind of drivers, lol) drove that bus, and she just sped up. Harry looked around to see Hermione running after the bus. He knew or rather felt that she was going to fall, and sprinted toward her, dropping his bag. He sometimes could tell when things were going to happen, and had learned to react fast. He reached her just as she tripped, and caught her before she hit the ground. Even though he caught her, her books all toppled to the ground. He set her up right and went to picking up her books.  
  
"H-How d-d-did you kn-know I was g-g-going to f-fall?" She asked in a not-that-scared-but-very-amazed tone. He finished picking the books up and gave them to her.  
  
"I tell you a secret," he said. Then he whispered in her ear, "I just did. Sometimes I just know when things are going to happen." Then he started walking home. She quickly caught up to him.  
  
"Are you physic?" she asked, "I've read about."  
  
"Too much," Harry finished for her. She glared at him a second.  
  
"For your information." she began.  
  
"You like reading and know more than all the other people in our grade combined, besides me since I have nothing else to do at home besides absorb any knowledge thrown at me, and could easily just skip to high school, but you don't want to feel like an outsider," said Harry very quickly. "Like me," He said in a tone that could bring a demon to tears.  
  
She just looked at him with a blank expression. She didn't know what to think. Didn't know weather to be sorrowful or angry at his comment. "How- How did you know that," she said in almost a whisper.  
  
"I'm cursed," he said not knowing how true that was, "with knowledge I don't want."  
  
They walked in silence for a few minuets, before Hermione spoke up. "What do you mean, you think your smarter than me?" Harry had to smile.  
  
"In certain ways, yes" he said grinning.  
  
"Are you sure?" she said more than asked, "I know far more then."  
  
"I could possibly guess?" he asked, sarcasm eminent in his voice.  
  
"Stop doing that!" she cried, "it's getting very annoying."  
  
Harry laughed to himself; "You're the only person it is fun to use on. My uncle and aunt ground me, Dudley beats me up, and if I do it to anyone one else it usually ends in one of the previous ways." She suddenly felt great pity for him. "Awa, come on, don't look at me like that," said Harry. He didn't want pity.  
  
"Sorry," she said, then trying to cheer him up said, "What is your happiest memory?" It was like he had run into a brick wall. He stopped dead in his tracks. She quickly realized the way his life sounded he didn't have any, but then he smiled.  
  
"Right now," was his simple reply. They looked at each other and smiled. The rest of the way to his house they got to know each other better.  
  
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I'm sorry I have to stop. My mom'll kill me if I stay up ant longer. Just wanted to thank Promy, my biggest fan lol. Oh, and can't forget to thank Saphire, TotallyMe, and Katzztar. If y'all like this story, you should definitely check out my other HP fic. Good night,  
  
~CFX~ 


	3. Visiting

My Friend  
  
The next morning Harry awoke before anyone could rudely wake him, and crawled out a secret sliding door he had crafted for himself. He quietly made some bacon so the Durslys wouldn't be entirely furious with him, and left the house quickly. This was his normal weekday routine, but this was not a weekday, this was Saturday, and Dudley's birthday. He started on his normal five mile run to school, but turned onto a different street half way through and soon found himself facing a large house. 'So this is where she lives,' he thought, 'interesting.'  
  
He walked up to the door and almost rung the bell but decided against it, mostly because of his instinct, and knocked. A woman that resembled Hermione a lot answered the door. "Hello," she said looking at him with a curious expression.  
  
"Hola," said Harry smiling, "I was invited to this wonderful house by a beautiful girl named Hermione." As he said that, he had a hard time keeping himself from blushing, but he succeeded. He was hoping to sound polite.  
  
"Well she is still sleeping and." she looked at her watch and her face became even more confused. "It is only six-thirty, what are you doing up so early young man."  
  
"I am the equal of a servant at my uncle's house, and if I don't sneak out I don't get out," said Harry. He had been preparing this speech since he had gotten home yesterday, and it was having the desired effect. Mrs. Granger's face was one of deep sorrow and pity, even though he didn't like it; it would help him gain her trust. Maybe even a good breakfast where he didn't have to cook.  
  
"A servant?" she questioned.  
  
"Yes, and if I resist, well" he lifted up his shirt and there was a big bruise on the right his chest. It was older, since he now could escape his uncle, but still fresh enough to cause discomfort.  
  
"Oh my!" Mrs. Granger gasped. She quickly escorted him in and began to apply some sort of ointment to the bruise. She then showed him to the kitchen where she made some eggs and toast for him to eat while he waited for Hermione to wake up.  
  
When she did wake up, well she half woke up; she came into the kitchen and sat down across from Harry. Her mother gave her the same thing Harry had eaten and she slowly ate it one tiny bit at a time. At this point Harry couldn't take it any more and burst out laughing. Mrs. Granger just shook her head and walked out of the kitchen while Hermione looked up at Harry, giving him a confused expression. This made him laugh harder. She looked down at her plate and then it hit her.  
  
"Harry?" she said snapping her head back up as her eye went wide with surprise. Harry, if it is possible, started laughing harder than before. She looked at the clock. Seven, "H-How long have you been here?"  
  
It took him a good fifteen minuets to clam down completely, and for her to wake up completely. "Remember, you invited me," he said.  
  
"I was thinking about later and being able to tell my parents before you showed up," she looked worried, "who let you in?"  
  
"Your mom, she seems to really like me," he said smiling.  
  
"So, why did you come so early?" she asked.  
  
"Umm, cousins birthday," he said, "to stay means servant duty."  
  
"Oh," she said looking sad for a second before getting an idea and smiling, "want a tour?"  
  
"Sure, I'd like that a lot," he smiled.  
  
So she show him around. She showed him a guestroom where he could stay if he wanted to sleep over, and her room. She also took him out to her back yard, which was quite large and had a swimming pool. She then introduced him to her dad, who also was saddened by the 'story of his life.'  
  
They spent the rest of the day just playing around. And her dad let them swim in the pool, even thought it was getting a little late in the year. That night Hermione's father and Harry's uncle had a heated argument, and in the end Harry got to stay over. 'My life is turning for the better every day,' he thought. He smiled as, for the first time he sleep in a real bed.  
  
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There I did it, another long awaited chapter, yay. I sent thanks to you the Huntress, Mayleesa, Clavel, Anonymous, Moonlight, demon kitty, and BoOkWoRm. A special thanks to Saphire, and my fan among fans Promy for reviewing twice. 


	4. Staying

My friend  
  
Harry woke up the next morning in a very comfortable bed. It toke him a second to remember why, but when he did he was extremely happy. He was in the process of jumping on the bed in pure joy, when Hermione entered the room. She looked at him sleepily and perplexed.  
  
"What's gotten into you?" she asked.  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" he said, "I'm not at my uncles house. It's great!"  
  
"Yeah, well breakfast should be ready soon," she said, then walked out of the room still half-asleep.  
  
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Harry was eating breakfast when he felt it, his extrasensory perception acting up again. He got up and ran to and out the front door. Across the street, and under and tree where he caught, or rather became a cushion for, a kid falling out of that tree. The boy got up quickly and turned to look at Harry, who was still lying on the ground.  
  
"Thanks," said the boy. He helped Harry up, "are you all right?"  
  
"Hmm, I think so" Harry said, "I'm Harry."  
  
"Oh." the boy looked frightened for a second then said, "I'm Zach."  
  
Hermione then came running across the street. "Harry, are you ok?"  
  
"I'm fine, no worries" said Harry. "Hermione, have you meet your neighbor" he asked motioning toward the other boy, "Zach."  
  
"I don't believe I have," said Hermione, "hello Zach."  
  
"Hi," Zach replied meekly.  
  
"So Harry, what were we going to do today?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Well I think I'll finish my breakfast and then we can go from there," stated Harry.  
  
"Well, umm, I haven't eaten breakfast yet so I'll see ya later," said Zach and then, waving, ran back into his house.  
  
"Did he seem a little jittery to you or was it just me?" asked Hermione, "Maybe he is afraid of what your cousin will do to him."  
  
"No, it's in his nature to be nervous," said Harry, "Let's go and finish breakfast." But Harry couldn't stop thinking about the weird feeling the kid gave him.  
  
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After they had finished their meal, Harry and Hermione had decided to take a walk. Hermione's mom came with then to meet a friend. While Hermione's mom was talking to her friend, Harry and Hermione found their way up one of the trees. They were sitting their for a while silently staring at each other and thinking. Then Harry broke the silence.  
  
"Hey, look down there" Harry was pointing at the kid named Zach and another boy, who looked as though he was a good couple of years older than Zach. His clothes were all worn out with dirt smudges and had a few holes in them. He wore a faded black leather trench coat, that was ripped at the right shoulder and had slashes every now and then. It looked like he'd been through a war.  
  
Harry climbed down the tree, closely followed by Hermione and walked over to the two. "Hello again Zach," said Harry, "Who is your friend?"  
  
"Umm, this is Anthony," said Zach nervously, "He just moved here from America."  
  
"Where did you live?" Hermione asked Anthony, looking at his clothes.  
  
"Well as you can see, I did live in a bad neighborhood in New York City," he said, "When my par." he stopped a second and cleared his throat. "My grandma had me brought here to attend a special school."  
  
"Harry, Hermione!" sounded Mrs. Granger's voice, "time to go!"  
  
"Well, see ya later." with that Harry and a very confused Hermione left.  
  
"People around here are weird," said Anthony.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Zach.  
  
"Never mind, I gotta go," he waved and vanished around a tree.  
  
"Well, what do you know," said Zach to himself, "three young wizards. Xel'Acra was right, they should be easy to control." He turned around and chuckled to himself as he walked toward his 'home'.  
  
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Later that day Harry and Hermione were sitting at a picnic table playing a very close game of monopoly.  
  
"That'll be two hundred," said Hermione, "railroads do cost a lot, don't they?"  
  
"Yeah" Harry grumbled as he regrettably handed over two one hundreds, "your turn."  
  
Hermione's face changed into a sour expression, she had to make it threw the last side of the board. Harry owned every bit of it except the railroad, and all that he owned was covered in hotels. She grimaced when she saw that she had rolled double fives, which put her on park place.  
  
"Well, well, well," said Harry with a grin, "looks like I get my two hundred back, plus another thirteen hundred."  
  
"I can count Harry," Hermione said bitterly. All of her money pilled together equaled a grand total of one thousand two hundred eighty five, two hundred fifteen short.  
  
"Feel like giving me some property instead?" inquired Harry, with the most innocent face he could manage at the time. Hermione glared at him, and instead mortgaged to get the money. Harry, looking slightly disappointed, took the money.  
  
"Doubles, go again," said Harry.  
  
All she needed was a three and she would be safe for a while. But to her great mortification, she ended up with snake eyes. Harry's face split into a wide grin. Hermione felt sick, she had never lost at this game, and here she was, not even sure if she could last through this. She had to sell everything except her railroads, witch were mortgaged, to pay off her debt. She watched sadly, as a Hotel was place on every place on the board. On her next roll she was out of the game.  
  
"Well that was fun," said Harry, standing up to stretch.  
  
"Sure," Hermione said in a very depressed tone.  
  
"Come on, Herm, it's only a game," said Harry.  
  
"It was not only a game, it was the first time I lost," she said calmly. She then stood up and walked into the house.  
  
"Hmm, wonder what'll cheer her up?" he asked himself. Then he heard some rustling in the bushes behind him. Anthony stepped out; he was still dressed in his filthy clothes.  
  
"Harry Potter, I need to have a few words with you." said Anthony.  
  
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First of all, I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry it took so long to write this. But I hopefully will be able to write more sorry since I finally have some ideas pouring into my head. I would like to thank Kiki, BoOkWoRm I'm sorry again, and alana. Also, I would like to thank my more frequent reviewers Promy, Saphire or I see it's now Dreamer the Mistwolf, coconut- ice agent h/h, and Lady Wolfsbane. Thank you all. Now time to get some much-needed sleep, 'til next time.  
  
~CFX~ 


	5. Knowing

My Friend  
  
"So, you think Zach is after me?" asked Harry.  
  
"Not just you, he is after a few people," said Anthony.  
  
"And you think he is after me, why?" asked Harry.  
  
"You have a special element in your soul, you see," Anthony started, "Zach is a, how should I put it, 'thief' of souls."  
  
"What!" Harry choked.  
  
"It is difficult to explain, just be careful while your around him," said Anthony, "and watch over that girl as well, both of your spirits burn brightly." At this he turned and started walking away. "I'll be watching over you Harry, but I won't always be able to help," he said before vanishing around the corner.  
  
Harry stood there dumbfounded, 'what was that' he asked himself. His thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched whimpering sound. He ran out to the street where he heard the sound and saw Dudley and a couple of his friends throwing rocks at what resembled a black puppy.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you are doing to that poor dog!" Harry heard Hermione's father yell. Dudley and the other kids ran away upon hearing his voice. Harry walked over and picked up the puppy. It lifted its head and looked at him. A brief vision appeared in Harry's mind, and everything turned dark.  
  
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Anthony was walking down the sidewalk away from Hermione's house just after talking to Harry. He was in deep though; "I'll have to help Harry banish that demon spirit, but how? I don't know any magic powerful enough. My grandma should know something though." As he finished this thought, he looked up to see Zach standing in front of him.  
  
"Going somewhere mortal?" said the shadow barely visible from behind Zach. "I was so disappointed our conversation was interrupted earlier.  
  
"I wasn't, demon," said Anthony, always striving to be brave in the face of danger. "My grandma told me you would return, and I'll be happy to send you back, just like my father did."  
  
"You, however, are not as powerful as you father was," the wispy voice rattled, "even he died sending me back, and look I'm back already."  
  
Anthony's arm shot for his wand but the demon possessed Zach was faster. A spilt second later it was over, Anthony was but a small black puppy, and a group a mean little boys was rounding the corner.  
  
"I'll leave you to your fate," Zach said before walking off.  
  
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Harry awoke suddenly, shooting into a sitting position. Hermione jumped at his sudden motion. She had been sitting in a chair next to the couch he was laying on, petting the puppy.  
  
"Harry! Are you okay," she asked with a worried expression on her face.  
  
Harry looked at the dog. "I'm fine, but Anthony isn't," He said pointing at the black puppy.  
  
"Wait, what are you saying, this is Anthony?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yes, Zach turned him into a dog!" Harry said.  
  
"Are you sure your okay?" asked Hermione, "cause I'm sure people can't be turned into dogs, I mean it is impossible. Unless Zach is some kind of fairy or something, which those things aren't real, he couldn't make Anthony into a dog, not possible I know for sure that."  
  
"Shh, Herm, I saw it happen." Harry said in a whisper.  
  
"Harry I think you need some more sleep," Hermione stood up, putting the puppy down on the chair. "Come on," see said, grabbing his arm and leading him to the guestroom. He reluctantly let her lead him there. "Now get some rest so your head turns on right." With that she shut the door.  
  
Harry lay there for a while thinking about his vision or dream, or whatever it was. Ten minuets past before the door creaked open a foot. He looked over and saw that the puppy had walked in and was sitting on the carpet looking at Harry.  
  
"I don't know what to do Anthony, Herm won't believe me," said Harry. He was surprised to hear a voice in his head say 'Harry, bring me to my grandma's, she can fix me.'  
  
"What!" Harry said falling off the bed. He looked at the pup for a second. "Did you just say something?" he asked. Harry nearly fainted when the pup raised his head up and then lowered it a couple times.  
  
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Hermione was sitting downstairs, reading about their next segment in math that they were going to start on Monday, when her father came home.  
  
"Where's mommy?" Hermione asked.  
  
"She had one more appointment," her dad said sitting down next to her. "I have some good news though, Harry might be staying here for a long time," he said.  
  
"Really!" Hermione squeaked.  
  
"Yes, it looks that way," her father said grinning to himself, "his uncle is in a lot of trouble."  
  
"That's great!" she said happily.  
  
"Speaking of Harry, is he okay?" her father asked.  
  
"Yeah," Hermione said shaking her head.  
  
"Where is Harry then?" asked her father.  
  
"He was acting funny so I made him go back to sleep," his daughter said.  
  
"Well you should probably tell him the good news when he wakes up," her dad said, before getting up and walking into the kitchen.  
  
"Okay," said Hermione, deciding to read for another hour before going to get Harry.  
  
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"It will take me a half of an hour to go that far though," said Harry, talking to the dog. 'If Herm say me now she would probably have me sent to the head doctor or something.'  
  
'She won't be coming to check on you for another hour though,' a voice spoke in his mind. 'Just run over there and run back, everything will be fine.'  
  
"All right, but you better not be lying to me," said Harry, picking up the pup. He opened the window and carefully slipped down the storm drain to the ground. He then started his long run.  
  
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He arrived at the old-looking house twenty-eight minuets latter, and set the pup down on the porch. "There you go little guy," said Harry, "I have to get back now." He then started running back barely hearing the puppies warning about the scrawny kid running after him.  
  
Ten minuets latter Harry felt something odd, he looked behind him to see Zach running after him. Harry started to run faster and soon the Granger house was in sight. He, however, had slowed down and Zach tackled him.  
  
"Where are you going to so fast young one?" Harry heard the odd voice say. Harry was now laying on his back with Zach standing over him, point a wand at his heart.  
  
"Harry!" they heard Hermione's voice. She had spotted him and she and her father were coming over to find out what was happening. Zach growled before running off.  
  
Hermione reached him first, embracing him in a tight hug. "Can't. breathe," Harry sputtered. Hermione released him as her father arrived.  
  
"Where have you been young man!" Mr. Granger demanded, but the worried look in his eyes betrayed his angry face.  
  
"I found the owner of the puppy," Harry said meekly.  
  
"Well next time inform us before running off like that, you gave us quite a fright there," said Mr. Granger, "now come along dinner is ready."  
  
Hermione and Harry followed her father inside to eat, but Harry couldn't forget for long the details of the day. Soon his dreams where retelling his adventurous day.  
  
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I hope you all can forgive me for taking so long to gather the ideas for this chapter. I would like to thank Luna Rose and Phoenix child, sam, Merlin6, BoOkWoRm, Dathrian Princess, Caltos Feralton, and Angl. I have to get some sleep now, good night. 


	6. Dealing

My Friend  
  
Sitting at school, Monday morning, Harry found himself staring at their latest math worksheet. Harry was slowly completing it; feeling rather tired having spent most of last night watching a few movies. He wasn't allowed to really watch TV at his uncle's house, so this was a rather nice change of events.  
  
He looked across the room to where Hermione was, to find her just completing an extra sheet of work. 'If I wasn't so lazy, I do that to,' Harry thought to himself. He went back to slowly finishing his work. When he was done he sat back and looked around the room.  
  
Dudley was on his fourth sheet, have folded the previous three into paper airplanes and throwing them at Harry. Harry was surprised to find he was actually working on this one. Then he noticed that the teacher was patrolling Dudley's area.  
  
She soon walked up to Harry, taking his paper and putting it on her desk. 'I can't wait for this day to end,' thought Harry as another paper airplane came soaring at him. He ducked the projectile but upon lifting his head another one, thrown by one of Dudley's friends, hit him in the eye.  
  
Harry yelped as he fell from his seat. The teacher came over to find out what was wrong while all the other students just glanced his direction, then hastily went back to work. Harry noticed Hermione was glaring at Dudley.  
  
"Are you okay?" his teacher asked.  
  
"I'm fine," said Harry, "my eye just hurts a bit."  
  
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"That's not right," said Hermione as they were walking out of school, "He should have gotten more than a warning."  
  
"Well, everyone thinks that I provoked him," said Harry, "my uncle doesn't say 'good' things about me, and grownups tend to believe other grownups."  
  
"I still say that." Hermione started but was interrupted.  
  
"What are you two talking about," said the voice of Dudley 'sounding, like the distant grunt of a pig,' thought Harry. He was standing in the doorway blocking their exit. "Dad's in trouble cause of you," He pointed a fat finger at Harry, "and I'm gonna beat you to a pulp for that." He started toward Harry, who grabbed Hermione's hand and took off in the opposite direction to find another exit.  
  
"I'll get you Harry," was the last of him they heard. When they found the next closest way out they saw that the buses were all gone.  
  
"Well, up for a walk?" Harry asked.  
  
"Why not," said Hermione smiling, and they made their way back to her house.  
  
When they were a block away, Anthony walked out in front of them. "Well Harry thank you for the other day. We need to talk later." Anthony then brushed past him, placing a note in his hand.  
  
Harry opened it once they were inside, all it said was "10:30, backyard."  
  
"What did you do for him?" asked Hermione, not noticing the little piece of paper.  
  
"Never mind, you wouldn't believe me anyway," said Harry placing the note into his back pocket.  
  
"Hello you two!" said Mrs. Granger cheerfully before Hermione could argue, "I think we should buy Harry some new clothes."  
  
"Yeah, so do I," Hermione said, looking at the huge baggy clothes Harry was wearing. "Those don't fit you, in more than one way," She said grinning.  
  
"Umm, I'm fine really," said Harry with a grim expression as the two started to drag him out to the car.  
  
************************************************************************ 3 hours later ************************************************************************  
  
"Thank God that's over," Harry whispered to him self.  
  
"Did you say something Harry?" asked Hermione, who was sitting next to him in the car. They had just started their drive back to the Granger's house.  
  
"No, nothing at all," Harry said quickly.  
  
Once they got back, Hermione helped Harry carry his new clothes up to his new room. She left him there to decide where he would put them on his own.  
  
"Hmm, that can't be right," Harry said looking at the undersized closet in the corner of the room. He watched as the tower of clothes swayed a bit from side to side. "Maybe I should." Harry began, but the tower that was now falling toward him didn't give him a chance to finish. Harry just stood there not even trying to dodge the offending tower.  
  
As the pile hit his head he was thinking about how he should separate the clothes by type. On his way to the ground he was thinking about hanging the shirts. As he lay on the ground he was wondering how long it would take to clean up this mess.  
  
Just then Hermione entered the room. "Harry dinner is." she began but stopped when she didn't see him anywhere. "Harry?" she said looking at the pile of clothes with an arm sticking out one side and a leg out the other. She pulled away a few pairs of blue jeans where she guessed his face was.  
  
He was laying there in deep thought. "Yes, that's what I'll do," he said quietly. He then noticed Hermione looking down at him. "Herm, what were you saying about dinner?"  
  
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He looked at his clock, 10:00. 'Thirty more minutes then,' he thought to himself. He was looking at the closet with pride; everything looked sturdy. Not that it was neat by any means, but it was sturdy.  
  
"What to do, what to do?" Harry repeated a couple of times.  
  
"It's past your bedtime don't ya think?" said Hermione grinning. She was standing in his doorway.  
  
"Nope, I don't think so," said Harry.  
  
"And you are in charge now?" asked Hermione, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Of course! I'm the master of my own, umm, life," said Harry in the most dramatic voice he had.  
  
"You mean destiny?" asked Hermione, slightly smirking.  
  
"No, I mean life," said Harry, "destiny is something unmasterable that I would rather not have in my life."  
  
"Unmasterable, I don't think that is a word," she said giving Harry an are-you-dumb-or-something look.  
  
"Of course it is!" said Harry, "I just made it up. All I have to do is get the people who make the dictionaries and whatnot to like it."  
  
"Sure, if you can do that then I'll grow wings," Hermione said sarcastically.  
  
"Want to bet?" asked Harry.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"I bet that if I can get the dictionary people to accept that word, that you will sprout wings," said Harry.  
  
"If you can't though, you'll be my housemaid for a year," said Hermione grinning evilly.  
  
"Hmm," thought Harry aloud, "deal."  
  
"Okay then," said Hermione, "you can start dusting tomorrow."  
  
"Hey, I haven't even talked to those people yet!" yelled Harry.  
  
"Okay, I'll give you until your sixteenth birthday," Hermione said before leaving the room.  
  
"Hmm, I'm gonna need to lookup a few things later," he said, "10:26, better get going."  
  
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Thanks to TimGold, Merlin, and Mia for reviewing. I'm not to good with romance Tim, but I'll give it a try. 


	7. Ending

My Friend  
  
Harry peeked out into the hallway to see Hermione's mom walking toward his room. 'Uh oh,' He thought, and quickly jumped under the covers. Mrs. Granger walked into the dark room to see Harry 'sleeping'. 'That's odd,' she thought, 'he is usually awake a lot longer.' She smiled to herself; 'maybe we are doing something right.' With that thought she turned from the room and left.  
  
Harry bolted from the bed to the window, barely missing the desk next to the bed. Quickly and quietly he opened the window and crawled out. He walked to the edge of the roof, and gathering up all his courage, jumped to a rather large tree branch. He caught the branch and huge in the air while he worked his way down to the trunk of the tree. He tried to get a grip around the trunk, but it was to wide and he was too small. Therefore he fell.  
  
He expected to hit the ground, but instead he heard a muffled yell as he hit something softer.  
  
"Get off me please," Harry heard Anthony say. He complied, quickly apologizing for what happened.  
  
"Well I'll get straight to the point, I need you and the girl to meet me at the park this Saturday. Around two in the afternoon, I need your help with something," said Anthony slowly. As he was turning away Harry thought he heard Anthony mutter something to the effect of "don't be late." Before Harry could even speak Anthony was gone.  
  
"He could've just told me that on the note," Harry grumbled as he slowly worked his way back up the tree and into his room to sleep.  
  
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For the most part the rest of the week past with out incident, well Dudley tried to be annoying but Harry was too curious about Saturday to care. It was now Thursday and Harry was watching the clock. 'Come on big hand, two more inches and its lunch time,' he silently cheered the clock on. He looked over at Hermione, who was half reading, half taking to the girl in front of her.  
  
Looking back toward the clock, he was disappointed to see it had only moved half an inch. Something Dudley was doing caught his attention at the moment and he looked over to see his cousin brandishing his brand new slingshot. He and all his friends were grinning evilly as Dudley loaded the 'weapon' with a jagged rock.  
  
'Crap,' Harry thought. Then his voice called out in a higher volume than was required, "who in their right mind gave you that?" He succeeded in getting the attention of the whole class and the teacher. Dudley quickly hid the slingshot and turned forward. Hermione was giving Harry a strange look that said, 'what was that about?' and Harry just shook his head. The bell rang right then and they all headed for lunch, Harry keeping an eye open for the slingshot, or any other potential weapon Dudley might have.  
  
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"He does!" Hermione exclaimed. Harry just had informed her about the slingshot.  
  
"Don't worry to much, if he does do something with it, your mom will have him expelled the way she is," Harry said grinning at the thought of never seeing Dudley at school again.  
  
Hermione sat there and rolled her eyes; Harry could be so immature sometimes. Harry was looking around and spotted two of Hermione's friends walking toward them. He didn't like them much; they seemed to think that if a girl and a boy were friends, they had underlying feelings toward each other. Sure Harry liked Hermione, but he didn't 'like' Hermione.  
  
"We have to meet Anthony on Saturday at two," Harry said quickly, "we'll have to talk about this later however," Harry said pointing to the two girls walking toward them. He hoped that Hermione wouldn't ask to many questions, but she wouldn't talk about him in front of these two. They would surely find some way to turn it into a rumor or something.  
  
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Harry was lying in bed Friday afternoon with a black eye. It seems Dudley doesn't care too much about any punishment, as he had shot Harry the first chance he got. Mrs. Granger's complaints had landed the fat boy a week of detention.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione's voice flew up the stairs a second before her. Harry had managed to get the day off from school, and Hermione had just returned home. She ran into his room with a huge smile on her face, she also was trying to hold in a bit of laughter. "Dudley has detention, a full week with Mr. Handan," she squeaked.  
  
Harry grinned; Dudley had a week of detention with the gym teacher. "Well, glad to hear it," said Harry, the grin still plastered to his face.  
  
"How are you doing?" She asked him looking at his eye.  
  
"Fine, I'm fine," He sat up, "How about a game?"  
  
"What game?" she asked.  
  
"Monopoly," Harry said.  
  
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Saturday at the park was nice. Harry and Hermione had played around a bit, seeing who could run the fastest, or who could swing the highest on the swing set there. Harry was faster than Hermione, but with her light frame, she managed to get higher then Harry could.  
  
They were just about to start a battle of wits when Anthony showed up. "Follow me," he said and then started walking away. The two quickly jumped up and ran after him, Hermione was a bit reluctant however. They walked about a hundred feet before Anthony stopped.  
  
He turned to them, "Harry, you know how I told you that Zach was dangerous. Well." Anthony then stopped, his eye opened up wide and he fell face first onto the ground.  
  
Behind Anthony, Zach was grinning. He held what looked like a rather large knife, and it glowed red a bit. "Any last words Potter," Said Zach. Harry and Hermione stood there petrified. Zach's eyes were glowing red as well and his voice was wispy-like and sounded as if it was coming from far away. "I guess not," and he raised the dagger and pointed it at a spot in between them. Black energy shot forth and the two friends fell to the ground, soulless eyes gazing toward the heavens.  
  
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Harry opened his eyes to see that he was inside of a huge crystal tower. There were many others here as well. Anthony and Hermione lay to either side of him. He woke them up and Anthony told them to stand in a circle.  
  
"What for?" asked Hermione as she, Harry and Anthony stood in a circle, "Where are we anyway, are we dead?"  
  
"No, not necessarily," said Anthony, "say what I say and we may be able to get out of here." Anthony then started chanting in a foreign language with Harry and Hermione trying their best to copy him. The other around them began the chant as well. Soon the noise grew so loud Hermione wanted to cover her ears but she resisted. The walls began to crack and dark energy ran up and down the sides like lightning.  
  
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Zach smiled at the three bodies around him. "It is finally done I can complete the summoning," he said aloud and was about to perform the ritual when an old voice stopped him.  
  
"What in the name of Merlin are you doing boy." Zach looked over to see an old woman standing not ten feet away.  
  
"Buzz off you old wind bag," Zach spat, "you're to weak to stop me now, I can sense it. All your power is gone."  
  
The old woman took a shaky step toward him. "You ought to respect your elders, you never know what misfortune you'll come across if you don't."  
  
"Your threats are only words," Zach grinned, "mine however." He stopped talking and pointed the dagger at her. "They are much more substantial."  
  
"You'll only die if you try that summoning ritual, you need to have all of the required souls," the old woman said pointing her finger at the dagger. Zach looked at it, cracks were forming around the outside and dark energy was poring from those cracks.  
  
"What magic is this you hag!" Zach screamed, "I have all the souls, nothing should be able to stop me."  
  
"You are mistaken, one soul is still free," she smiled, "my grandson."  
  
"No, I have his soul right here!" he said waving the dagger that was looking more likely to explode any moment.  
  
"The soul of my son, yes," she smiled again, "He faked his death, then transfigured his body to match his son's, hiding his son and his wife from your senses. I then transferred my remaining power to him so he would be strong enough to destroy that ancient, vile dagger. That also means your master will be forever trapped in the outworld."  
  
"No, no, no, NO!" He moved as if to throw the weapon at her, but it self-destructed just then. Bright energies flew everywhere, gaining a few glances from some of the people in the area. Shanna, as the old lady was called, did a quick repelling charm. The people then went back to there own business, forgetting the light display.  
  
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Harry woke up as his body and soul became one again, and looked forward to see the hilt of the dagger spinning in the air. Souls were streaming forth from the spot where the blade should have been. One flew out and right into Hermione's body. She awoke with a gasp.  
  
Anthony was already up and talking to a nearby old lady. As the hilt hit the ground, their conversation ended and she left. He walked over and picked the hilt up.  
  
"You both look a bit confused," he said to them, only now he looked like he was in his mid-thirties. "Any questions?" he asked them.  
  
They both had many questions but neither of them could speak.  
  
"All right then, I suppose I should let you two know that that kid Zach was actually an old wizard channeling an evil spirit from outworld, the spirit world if you will. To fully summon the evil spirit he needed a certain number of souls, but back many years ago my ancestors found out what he was doing and cursed him. To breach the curse he need all of my ancestor's descendant's souls, as well as the rest of the required souls."  
  
"Why us though?" asked Hermione. Harry looked at her wondering if she understood all of this.  
  
"Because each of you is a descendant of one of the children of mana, as we called them," he said. "The power that travels in your blood can skip a few generations. Harry is starting to develop it even now, in his ability to 'predict' danger. You will find out about it soon enough, it likes to show itself around your eighth birthday. I'm sorry but I can't tell you much, as I have only known one other like you, and he was taken not soon after I meet him. I can, however, leave you with his book. It should shine some light on all of this."  
  
He handed them a large, worn, old-looking book. Harry and Hermione could barely read the cover. When they turned the page the writing was all obscured. "How are we supposed to read this?" asked Harry.  
  
"I believe he said, 'when the time is right, the children of mana will see,' whatever that means. I, however, have to take my leave of you and get back to my family. If you're ever in New York stop bye." Then they both heard a pop and Anthony vanished.  
  
"Now I'm even more confused," said Harry; "For once I'd like to understand what is going on with all the magic stuff. I though magic wasn't real."  
  
"Yeah, I guess when we are ready we'll find out, eh?" said Hermione, standing up.  
  
"Well, I want to be ready right now," Harry said, pouting.  
  
"Patience is a virtue," remind Hermione.  
  
"Yeah right," said Harry, "you can honestly say that your okay with feeling lost and confused?"  
  
"Well, umm, not really." said Hermione.  
  
"Exactly," Harry cut her off, glad that she at least felt the same as him.  
  
"Harry! Hermione! Time to go!" Mrs. Granger called.  
  
"Let's go," Hermione said grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him toward her mom.  
  
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Thanks to TimGold, Star Mage1, lordanhur and the following.  
  
Ambookworm247 - I just finished the plot I had going for this part of their lives, I'll probably speed up to their first year now.  
  
Mia - thank you for reviewing again and for thanking me, I won't get to any romance until they're around sixteen, kind of don't know how I'm going to do it yet either.  
  
Sushinase - Thank you for all your reviews, and to clear up your confusion, Harry is 8, and Hermione is, well, almost 8. No, sadly I don't have a beta reader, I just do my best at editing myself, even though I'm a terrible speller.  
  
Well good night, I should really get some sleep,  
  
CFX 


End file.
